Malia Akutagawa, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hawaiʻinuiākea School of Hawaiian Knowledge, Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies, William S. Richardson School of Law, Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law

Rosie Alegado, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Department of Oceanography, UH Sea Grant

Tiffany Anderson, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Geology and Geophysics

Patrick Barnard, U.S. Geological Survey–Santa Cruz

Rusty Brainard, NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center

Laura Brewington, East-West Center, Pacific RISA

Jeff Burgett, Pacific Islands Climate Change Cooperative

Rashed Chowdhury, NOAA Pacific ENSO Applications Climate Center

Makena Coffman, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, Urban and Regional Planning

Hawai‘i and U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands

Indigenous Communities and Knowledge

Indigenous peoples of the Pacific are threatened by rising sea levels, diminishing freshwater availability, and shifting ecosystem services. These changes imperil communities’ health, well-being, and modern livelihoods, as well as their familial relationships with lands, territories, and resources. Built on observations of climatic changes over time, the transmission and protection of traditional knowledge and practices, especially via the central role played by Indigenous women, are intergenerational, place-based, localized, and vital for ongoing adaptation and survival.

Indigenous communities of the Pacific have an inseparable connection to and derive their sense of identity from the lands, territories, and resources of their islands. This connection is traditionally documented in genealogical chants and stories transmitted through oral history.146 The rich cultural heritage of Pacific island communities comprises spiritual, relational, and ancestral interconnectedness with the environment174 and provides land security, water and energy security, livelihood security, habitat security,175 and cultural food security.176 Climate change threatens this familial relationship with ancestral resources177 and is disrupting the continuity that is required for the health and well-being of these communities (this experience is common to many tribal and Indigenous communities across the United States) (see Ch. 15: Tribes, KM 2).176,177

Sea level rise imperils Indigenous communities of the Pacific. The sea that surrounds Pacific island communities continues to rise at a rate faster than the global average,115 with documented impacts on agriculture, coastal infrastructure, food security, livelihoods, and disaster management in the Republic of Palau149 and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.147

In Hawaiʻi, sea level rise impacts on traditional and customary practices (including fishpond maintenance, cultivation of salt, and gathering from the nearshore fisheries) have been observed (Figure 27.11).177 Since 2014, Indigenous practitioners have had limited access to the land where salt is traditionally cultivated and harvested due to flooding and sea level rise. Detachment from traditional lands has a negative effect on the spiritual and mental health of the people (Ch. 14: Human Health, KM 1; Ch. 15: Tribes, KM 2).176

Salt Cultivation on Kaua‘i

Ocean acidification and drought, in combination with pollution and development, are negatively affecting fisheries and ecosystems (which are drivers of tourism), directly impacting the livelihood security of Pacific communities. For example, across all Pacific island countries and territories, industrial tuna fisheries account for half of all exports, 25,000 jobs, and 11% of economic production.178 In Hawaiʻi, between 2011 and 2015, an annual average of 37,386 Native Hawaiians worked in tourism-intensive industries; based on the 2013 U.S. census, this number represents 12.5% of the Native Hawaiian population residing in Hawaiʻi.

Case Study: Bridging Climate Science and Traditional Culture

To identify adaptive management strategies for Molokai’s loko i‘a (fishponds) built in the 15th century, the nonprofit Ka Honua Momona’s fishpond restoration project gathered Hawaiʻi’s climate scientists, Molokai’s traditional fishpond managers, and other resource managers to share knowledge from different knowledge systems (Figure 27.12). Loko iʻa are unique and efficient forms of aquaculture that cultivate pua (baby fish) and support the natural migration patterns over the life of the fish. The lens of the ahupuaʻa (the watershed, extending from the uplands to the sea) was an important framework for this project. Sea level rise, surface water runoff, and saltwater intrusion into the freshwater springs are a few of the climate change impacts to which fishponds are vulnerable.177 A key outcome of creating this collaborative model was strengthening relationships between diverse groups of people committed to responding to ecosystem changes and protecting cultural and natural resources.

Preparing Molokai’s Fishponds for Climate Change

Climate change is impacting subsistence18,70,95,123,175 and cultural food security70,176 of Pacific island communities. Subsistence food security is essential for the survival of Indigenous peoples of the world and is valued socially, culturally, and spiritually.175 Cultural food security refers to the provision of food that is a necessary part of a community’s regular diet and sustains the connection with cultural and social practices and traditions.176 Taro and fish are two examples of cultural foods important to the livelihoods of Pacific island communities and to economic development for the community and government.123

Crop Trials of Salt-Tolerant Taro Varieties

Figure 27.13: Taro trials are underway in Palau, with results so far indicating that three varieties have …

In Hawaiʻi, climate change impacts, such as reduced streamflow, sea level rise, saltwater intrusion, and long periods of drought, threaten the ongoing cultivation of taro and other traditional crops.177 Identifying and developing climate-resilient taro and other crops are critical for their continued existence.179 In Yap, taro is a key element of the diet. Groundwater salinization has resulted in smaller corms (underground tubers), causing declines in harvest yield.180 In American Sāmoa, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Federated States of Micronesia, crops grown in mixed agroforests provide important sources of nutrition, meet subsistence needs, supplement household incomes through sales at local farmers’ markets, and support commercial production.95,96 These crops include breadfruit, mango, and coconut as overstory components; citrus, coffee, cacao, kava, and betel nut as perennial components; and banana, yams, and taro. Climate change is expected to result in changes in farming methods and cultivars (Figure 27.13). Consequently, these changes will likely impact the relationship between communities and the land. These kinds of climate impacts lead to an increased dependence on imported food that is of little nutritional value.181 This is a public health concern for Hawaiʻi and the USAPI, as Indigenous Pacific Islanders have the highest rates of obesity and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, in the region.182

The rich body of traditional knowledge is place-based and localized21 and is useful in adaptation because it builds on intergenerational sharing of observations22 of changes in climate-related weather patterns, ocean phenomena, and phenology (the study of cyclic and seasonal natural phenomena, especially in relation to climate and plant and animal life). These observations, gathered over millennia, are useful in defining baselines and informing adaptive strategies.183 Indigenous cultures are resilient, and their resilience has empowered Pacific island communities to survive several millennia on islands.180 These communities have survived extreme events and responded to change through adaptive mechanisms based on traditional knowledge that has evolved over many generations.184

Women play a vital role in ensuring that adaptation planning and action in the Pacific draw on traditional knowledge and new technologies.184 The role of women in Indigenous communities includes maintaining crop diversity as collectors, savers, and managers of seeds and thus enhancing livelihood security for the community.185 Indigenous women are also central in teaching, practicing, protecting, and transmitting traditional knowledge and practices.185 Women have also been identified as a more vulnerable population to regional climate risks due to the role they have in terms of economic activities, safety, health, and their livelihoods.147 For example, in Palau, as in the broader region, the central role of Indigenous women as lead project participants is key to the success of any project.

In Pacific island cultures, lunar calendars are tools used to identify baselines of an environment, track changes (kilo, in Hawaiian), and record seasonality, migration patterns, and weather.183 In Hawaiʻi, use of the traditional lunar calendar (kaulana mahina) and kilo in climate change adaptation assists communities with decision-making that allows for the best survival techniques.183 In Moʻomomi, Molokai, an intact coastal sand dune ecosystem in the main Hawaiian Islands, kaulana mahina has proven to be a useful tool that has enhanced the resilience of this coastline.186,187 Similarly, a calendar for traditional Marshallese agroforestry crops recently was adapted to account for ENSO and climate conditions (see Figure 27.14).188

Figure 27.14: Marshallese Traditional Agroforestry Calendar

Figure 27.14: The Marshallese Traditional Agroforestry Calendar combines climate data and traditional season designations and knowledge about the harvest times of perennial crops throughout the year. Months are displayed in Marshallese on the outer ring, while inner rings show how wind and rain patterns and the harvest of two crops typically change throughout the year. The color gradients show the intensity of the harvest or the climate variable, with more intense colors representing larger amounts harvested or higher amounts of rain, for example, at various times. A web-based tool offers two versions, depending on the status of ENSO conditions. Source: adapted by Victor Garcia, Jr., from Friday et al. 2017.188

Emerging issues for Indigenous communities of the Pacific include the resilience of marine-managed areas and climate-induced human migration from their traditional lands, territories, and resources. Marine-managed areas, such as those designated under the Micronesia Challenge and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaiʻi, demonstrate a commitment by multiple partners to conserve marine resources. Over time, monitoring the ability of Indigenous peoples to continue to experience kinship and maintain traditional practices can help to preserve the cultural heritage associated with these protected areas. Documenting the kinds of governance structures or decision-making hierarchies created for their management can serve as a learning tool that can be shared with other island communities.